Nittany Lions Gear Up for Big Ten Championships

By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com
Student Staff WriterUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - They've
been looking forward to this moment all season, and on Sunday both the Penn
State women's and men's cross country teams get the chance to prove themselves
against their conference at the Big Ten Championships.

The meet, which takes place
at Michigan State,

will feature all 12 teams that make up the Big
Ten.

When asked about the meet, head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan couldn't contain her
excitement about facing their competition.

"It's a great opportunity to
go head to head with everybody," said Sullivan. "It's a rare sport that gets to
do that and our kids and I are excited for it."

Sullivan was also quick to mention
how her teams training in preparation for the meet has kept them in excellent
shape.

"We've had a great cycle of
workouts starting from the end of last week," said Sullivan. "Now we're trying
to make sure their legs are good and fresh going into this weekend."

Along with making sure her
team is in top physical shape, Sullivan wants to ensure that they are mentally
prepared to handle the pressure of a big race as well.

"I just tell them to embrace
the fun and get excited about what's at hand," said Sullivan. "It's all about
keeping it relaxed, loose, and being confident.

Junior Nick Scarpello agreed
with his coach and stated that the key to staying calm for a race of this
magnitude is to keep your mindset the same as always.

"For a meet like this, we
like to approach it like any other race," said Scarpello. "For us it's like
business as usual."

One thing that Sullivan did
stress is how the team's strategy changes with only nine runners competing from
each school.

"The tactics change because
the runners have a clear vision of the race," said Sullivan. "They can see
their teammates better and run in a pack better so the strategy changes so they
can team perform."

This is a factor that
Sullivan believes could play into the Nittany Lions favor, as they have raced
in both large and small meets this season.

"I think we're really ready,"
said Sullivan. "We've run the gamut on all the things that the sport produces
and we've seen a lot of the Big Ten.

Junior Rebekka Simko agreed
that the Nittany Lion's are prepared for the challenge, since they have already
faced some of the best competition the country has to offer this season.

"We've been against the best
in the country," said Simko. "We know we can run with these schools.

Both squads enter the race
with high aspirations for themselves. Sullivan believes the men's squad can
place in the top five.

"We finished sixth last year,
so we're looking to crack that top five," said Sullivan. "That's the standard
and hopefully we can get into the upper echelon.

Scarpello shared Sullivan's
opinion on the goal for his team.

"We're standing by our goal
at the beginning on the season which was to finish fifth," said Scarpello.
"We're going to have to run well but it just means performing up to our
capabilities."

Some of the schools that the
men's squad will be sure to keep an eye on are the defending national champion
Wisconsin Badgers, as well as Michigan.

"Wisconsin looks to be highly
the favorites," said Sullivan. "Michigan has also been running extremely well
lately."

On the women's side, the 13th-ranked
Nittany Lion's will be in tough competition with seventh-ranked Michigan and 15th-ranked
Michigan State for the title.

"Michigan State is the two
time defending champs and they've got the home field advantage," said Sullivan.
"Michigan is having a phenomenal season and they're the one team we haven't
seen yet."

In Sullivan's opinion, the
school that ends up winning will be the one that manages to get some unexpected
breakout performances.

"The team that wins this
weekend is going to be the one that pulls off some surprise performances," said
Sullivan. "If someone comes through with a bigger race then they have all year
and gives their team an extra punch then that could determine it."

The one factor that Sullivan
believes will be huge for her runners is their ability to run together.

"Our girls have been running
so tight amongst each other," said Sullivan. "If that pack can stay tight on
the front end then we're going to be really dangerous."

Sullivan also expressed how
much it would mean to see this group of girls win the title.

"This would be huge," said
Sullivan. "We've been in contention every year and to pull off the win would
really set the standard for the program."

Simko echoed her coach's sentiments
on what winning would mean to the program.

"It would be unbelievable,"
said Simko. "It would be a great way for the seniors to end their careers."

Though the competition will
be tough, the Nittany Lion's believe that can pull off their goal.

"We're looking at it as it's
ours to steal, not ours to lose," said Sullivan. "If we keep that attitude
we'll have a great shot."